Recording device



Nov. 10, 1936. R. D. SPARKS RECORDING DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 14, 1935 INVENTOR. W 49: 8 6W fww ATTORNEY\ Nov. 10, 1936. R. D. SPARKS RECORDING DEVICE Filed Aug. 14, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 mw m 3 .N i m- Nu m. m 2 mm 2 mw 9 mu E E INVENTOR. Wag/A BY U25 zmSG. 2):"

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ATTORNEYS.

Nov. 10, 1936. SPARKS 2,060,132

RECORDING DEVICE Filed Aug. 14, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTGRNEYS.

Patented Nov. 10, 1936 PATENT OFFICE RECORDING DEVICE Rupert D. Sparks,

Williamson, W. Va.

Application August 14, 1933, Serial No. 685,036

14 Claims.

My invention relates to recording devices, and more especially to small portable devices for making records on cards or small sheets. It further particularly relates to such devices in which the record is made by punching a portion out of the card or sheet to designate any one of a number of record markings on the card or sheet.

An especial object of my invention is to provide a device as simple and convenient as may be for the use of persons who deliver newspapers to subscribers at their homes or other various locations, and who collect the money at intervals, and keep the records of termination of the subscriptions according to the amounts paid, keeping their accounts the same as a small merchant, and who must also account to the newspaper office for the subscription record. It is a common practice for these carriers or newsboys to pay the newspaper ofiice for the papers taken out; the carriers or newsboys in turn collecting from the subscribers. Whether the business is transacted in this way or not, it is necessary for the carrier or newsboy to give the ofiice a duplicate account of the one rendered to the subscriber. It has been the ordinary practice for the newsboy to furnish the subscriber with a card on which the various months of the year and days of the months at certain intervals, as for instance weekly, are indicated. The newsboy has carried an ordinary hand punch and when the customer pays him for a subscription up to one of the days indicated on the card, he punches the card on or at the indication of the date. With this system it has been necessary for the newsboy to have a duplicate card or other record by means of which he can deliver to the newspaper office an exact duplicate of the record which he has made on the customers card.

This system heretofore in vogue is objectionable for various reasons. The duplicate cards generally used for returning to the newspaper oflice are rather expensive. The newsboy must carry these cards, which are bulky. He must search for the card assigned to the particular subscriber when collecting from that subscriber. He must use especial care to punch the date on this card the same as that punched on the customers card. He may lose one or more of these duplicate cards or small hand punch, and having to do his work in all kinds of Weather, the cards may become damaged and soiled so that they are delivered to the office in a condition not convenient for the office to use. Also, from the nature of his work, it is very inconvenient for him to handle these cards as well as the customers cards, and

the hand punching while standing at the customers door occasions delay of the newsboy, takes the time of the customer, and, as will be seen from the above, involves great liability of mistakes in the accounts.

In view of all of these conditions, it is the object of my invention to provide the newsboy with a relatively small and simple apparatus which contains the ofiice records in a manner in which they are protected from the weather and from soiling by handling, and in which the records are so disposed relative to the mechanism of the apparatus that the newsboy, by a simple manipulation of the apparatus, may bring into position relative to a small punching device on the apparatus, not only the indication of date on the enclosed record, but the duplicate indication on the customers card with great ease, quickness and convenience. It is a further object to provide in such a device means very readily seen by the newsboy for accurately setting the record and the card in the apparatus while the apparatus is carried on a belt, or the like, worn by the newsboy at one side, where the apparatus is not only readily seen,

but its manipulative means is reached and operated by one of his hands, and whereby the punching device, after the record and card are in position, is readily manipulated by the same hand.

Other minor objects concerned in the accomplishment of the above principal objects will appear in the course of the following description, which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus embodying my invention (looking from the outer side).

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section on the plane of the line 2, 2 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a plan View of the apparatus and part of one of the customers cards about to be inserted therein.

Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal section on the plane of the line 4, 4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a complete view of one of the customers cards.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the apparatus looking from the inner side.

Fig. 7 is a partial vertical cross section on the plane of the line I, l of Fig. 3, showing the preferred construction and arrangement of the punches.

Fig. 8 is a bottom plan view of the apparatus, with the bottom closure removed.

As I prefer to construct my improved recording device, it comprises a box-like casing comprising an outer side wall I, an inner side wall 2, a rear end wall 3, and a front end wall 4. The casing bottom 5 has a hinge connection 6 with the lower end of the rear wall 3, and its rear end has an upward extension 1 which fits frictionally against the inner side of the front Wall 4 to hold this hinged bottom in closed position, and also an extension M for engaging the thumb, for opening. Inside this casing are two reels or spools 8 and 9 mounted on shafts I0 and II, respectively, which are journaled in the outer and inner side walls I and 2 of the casing. Between the inner side of the outer wall 2 and the respective spools 8 and 9, small gears I2 and I3 are fixed on the shafts I0 and I I, respectively; and journaled on this inner side of this wall 2. above these gears, are intermediate pinions I4 and I5; and above these are gears I6 and I1, respectively. The pinion I4 meshes with the gears I2 and I6, and the pinion I5 meshes with the gears I3 and IT. The gears I6 and I! are preferably of twice the diameter of the gears I2 and I3, which turn with the spools 8 and 9, respectively. These larger gears I6 and I 'l are fixed on the shafts I8 and I8a, respectively, journaled in and extending out through the outer wall I of the casing, and having fixed on their outer parts respective knobs I9 and I 9a. The reels 8 and 9 and their gear just described are spaced apart longitudinally; and shortly below the plane of their centers a retarding or braking member 26 is fixed to the inner side of the wall I, with resilient tongues 2| and 22 bearing against the adjacent ends of the spools 8 and 9, respectively.

The supporting plate 23 is fixed inside of the casing close to its top and extends horizontally over the reels 8 and 9; being considerably shorter than the inside of the casing, leaving spaces at both ends; and in the respective spaces the rollers 24 and 25 are journaled across from one casing wall I to the other wall 2. The rollers 24 and 25 are of rather large diameter and form smooth convex guides, around which a record strip 26 is guided in passing from either the reel 8 or 9, across the top of the support plate 23 to the other reel. As will be most plainly seen in Fig, 4, this record strip 26 is wound in the same direction on both reels 8 and 9, so that turning either knob I9 or 20 over toward the rear end of the apparatus will wind the record strip on the corresponding reel.

At the rear end of the machine the support plate 23 is spaced a considerable distance from the guide bar 25, and in this space is mounted the lower die plate 21 to lie with its upper surface in the plane of the top of the support plate 23 for passage of the record strip 26 thereover. Mounted above the lower die plate 21 is the upper die plate 28 spaced from the lower one so that the record strip may pass between them. These two plates have registering series of die openings 29 and 30, respectively. The upper die plate 28 extends out over and past the rear end wall 3 of the casing; this end wall being considerably less in height than the front wall 4. This outward extension 3i of the upper die plate 28 forms a support for the end of the customers card 32 when it is being inserted into the apparatus. It will be understood that these die plates 27 and 28 are fixed at their ends to the upper portions of the side walls I and 2 of the casing.

Also mounted in the same manner above and spaced up from the upper die plate 28 is the punch head 33, which has opening out through its top a series of punch chambers 34, one for each of two registering die plate openings 29 and 38. Each one of these chambers 34 contains and guides a punch 35, which comprises the lower operative end part to slide down through a guiding opening in the bottom of the punch head, and an upper enlarged portion 36 which fits snugly in the punch chamber 34 to guide the upper portion of the punch, and has on its upper end a smaller central engaging tip 31. In each chamber 35 a helical spring 38, surrounding this smaller part of the punch, engages its lower end with the bottom of the chamber 35 and its upper end with the bottom of the enlarged punch part 36. This spring normally holds the punch up against the head of a screw 39 in the top of the punch head, one screw being provided for each punch. Aligned with each punch chamber and punch from front to rear across the top of the punch head 33 is an upwardly opening slot 48; and the front of the top of the punch head 33 has a recess M with upstanding sides 42 and 43 at the ends of the recess. Longitudinally of this recess a small shaft 44 extends with reduced end portions journaled in the sides 42 and 43, and at its end next to the inner surface of the side 43 it has a small helical spring 45 coiled around it, with one end fixed to the adjacent side 43, and the other end fixed in the shaft in such a manner as to tend to turn the shaft over toward the front of the apparatus. This shaft 44 also has a small key way 46; and a punch operating lever 41 has a hub 48 embracing this shaft, with a key 48 slidably fitting in this key way 46; the hub,

with the lever 41, being slidable along this shaft 44. This lever 41 has its middle portion shaped to fit in any one of the front-to-rear slots 40 of the punch head when the lever is depressed by bearing down on its widened rear end portion 56. The middle portion of this lever thus entering in one of the slots, has a rounded cam surface 5| on its lower edge engaging a tip 31 of the punch at the slot into which the lever is depressed. Thus by bearing down on the rear portion 59 of the lever, after the lever has been located at any one of the punches in this manner, the lever is caused to depress the punch to pass down successively through the upper die plate opening 38, and the lower die plate opening 29. The punch head 33 is reduced in height adjacent the outer side of the apparatus, leaving a flat ledge 52 in which is provided a slot 53 opening down through the bottom of the punch head. The upperdie plate 26 has a slot 54 in registry with the slot 53 in the punch head. These slots 53 and 54, together form a sight opening or window through which the user can see the face of the record strip 26; or, if the card 32 is in place, the operator can see the face of this card through the slot 53. The slot 53 preferably has its sides flaring upwardly to facilitate the view of the user. These slots 53 and 54 are in transverse alignment with the row of punches 35. Consequently the portion of the record strip or card appearing through these slots is in transverse alignment with the portions of the strip or card which will be punched by the punches.

The major forward portion of the top of the casing, not covered by the punch head and die plates, is covered by a lid made up of a frame 55, enclosing a transparent sheet or plate 56, which preferably is of celluloid, or the like, so as not to be easily breakable. This frame 55 is connected by a. hinge 5! to the top of the front wall 4 of the casing. This wall 4, as well as the walls I and 2, are extended above the top of the record strip 26 sufiiciently to support this frame 55 high enough to leave a clear space between the lower face of the frame and the top of the record strip 26. At the sides of this space, strips 58 are provided, the tops of which are substantially in the plane of the top of the upper die plate 28. These strips serve to support the lateral edges of the card 32, where it is inserted into the apparatus. Through the transparent sheet or plate 56 the face of the record strip 26 or of the card 32, if it is inserted, may be plainly seen by the operator. For supporting the apparatus the side wall 2 is provided with narrow metal strips 59, which have their ends bent, and secured to the wall 2 so that the major intermediate portion of the strip 59 extends out from the wall 2 for the passage of the belt worn by the newsboy.

With the device constructed as above described and held on the newsboys belt at his right hand side, if he is right-handed, the punching device is at the rear within easy reach of his right hand, and also the place for insertion of the card 32 is at the rear end of the apparatus for convenient insertion of the card by the operators right hand. The lid comprising the frame 55 and transparent plate 56, hinged as above described, may be opened forwardly, and then the newsboy may write on the record strip, resting the heel of his hand on top of the punching device; or he may insert the customers card and write on it in this way while the lid is open.

The record strip 26 has printed on its face a succession of forms all alike, one for each subscriber or customer. The full form is clearly seen in Fig. 3, appearing through the transparent opening of the lid. It has at its head spaces for the name and address of the customer and other matter Bl recording the customers subscription. The small rectangle 62 at the right hand side is for writing in the subscribers number. Occupying the major lower portion of the form are the names 63 of the twelve months in a series from top to bottom at the right hand side of the form; and to the left are five vertical rows 64, 65, 66, 61, and 68 of numerals, each indicating a certain day of the week, and arranged after the manner of a calendar. The subscribers or customers card 32 has, as seen in Fig. 5, the names 63a of the months and the numerals arranged in five columns 641%, 65a, 66a, 61a, and 68a. in the same manner, so that they will register closely with the names and numerals on the record strip. The customers card has spaces 69 for name and address and other matter, but these are located at the foot of the columns of month names and date numerals on the card; that is, the heading of this card is near its rear end. This rear end portion of the card is provided with a grommet 10 so that the customer may hang it up. It will be seen that the customers card is arranged in this reverse manner because these portions which are at the rear end of the card would, if they were at the other end, interfere with inserting the card far enough to register with the record strip at all of the positions of any one form of the strip.

The newsboy may quickly turn the record strip so as to expose any one of its forms at the transparent frame, and may have access to any one of these forms by opening this frame as already described. Thus the record strip, which may be of considerable length, carrying a relatively large number of forms, can have its several forms designated for the several subscribers or customers, and when placed in the apparatus, the newsboy may turn to any one of these forms quickly by turning either one of the knobs H) or 20, and thereby turning the reels 8 and 9 twice as fast. When the newsboy collects for a subscription or an extension of the subscription, he can quickly turn the form for that customer into position, and by sighting through the small window opening 53, can locate the month of the date which is to indicate the expiration of the customers subscription or renewal. For instance in Fig. 1, the word November appears through this opening. Consequently a row of numerals in the columns at the left on the record strip is under the punches 35. It happens in this case that November has dates in only the first four columns, as can be seen on one of the other forms revealed through the transparent frame near the front of the apparatus. The four numerals under the punches will be the four November dates at which subscriptions or renewals may expire. The newsboy, now looking at the numerals for November on the other end form out toward the other as just mentioned, can see where to set the lever 50 transversely across the punching device. For example, if he wishes to punch November 18th, as seen on the fully revealed form in Fig. 3, he will set the lever opposite the third column 56 of the numerals as there shown. Then upon depression of the lever, the punch there engaged by the lever cam part 5| will be depressed and will punch an opening at the numeral I8. The slots 45 in the punch head'enable the operator to locate the lever exactly in correct operative relation to the desired punch. When he releases the lever, the spring 38 automatically returns the punch and lever to raised position, where the lever still remains slightly inserted in the slot 40. To move the lever from. one slot to another, sliding along the shaft 44, the operator slightly raises the lever. All of this is readily understood from the illustration in Fig. 4.

It will be readily understood from the above description that if the newsboy inserts the customers card after locating the record strip form properly with relation to the punches as above described, and locates the card properly in the same manner, by causing the desired month to appear through the openings 53 and 54, then upon depression of the punch, both the card and the record strip will be punched with the same date. The newsboy returns the card to the customer, and the record strips are brought by the newsboy to the newspaper office for in spection by the persons having charge of the customers accounts. A record strip may be readily removed from the apparatus by detaching it from the reel 8 at the rear end and passing its free end out through the slot H below the ledge 3!. The ends of the record strip are detachably secured to the reels at fiat portions 72 on the reel shafts I I] and H under small pins '13 extending out from these flattened portions 12.

I prefer to make the record strips 26 of a very good grade of paper, such as parchment paper, which will withstand severe usage and moisture. The cards 32 are of tag stock, such as usually has been employed. However, as before stated, the newsboys were provided with two of these cards for each customer. The record strip 26, although of very good material, is not nearly as expensive as these cards. The stock does not cost as much and a large number of forms having many customers accounts may be printed on a single strip of paper with much greater economy than the cards can be printed. It has been fully described how much more convenient my apparatus is for the newsboy than is the handling of loose cards.

I prefer to make my apparatus of aluminum in most of its parts, and to construct it generally as lightly as possible; and I have found that an apparatus as above described can be made so compact and light as to be readily carried by the newsboy on his belt without hindrance to him, but on the contrary, greatly to his convenience.

While I have described certain details of construction and arrangement and preferred materials, it will be understood that modifications as to all of these may occur in practice, and therefore that I am not limited to such precise disclosure, but what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:-

1. In a recording device, a casing, reels rotatably mounted in the casing, a support near the top of the casing, on which a record strip may be wound from reel to reel over said support, guiding means extending along and above said support in said casing, whereby, a card may be inserted and guided on said guiding means for adjustment longitudinally of the strip, and marking means on said casing above said guiding means, operative to mark both the card and the strip if a card has been previously inserted.

2. A recording device as set forth in claim 1, in which the marking means is located near one end of the casing and is constructed to mark at selected locations spaced transversely of the card and strip, said casing having a sight opening between said marking means and its other end, whereby indicia on the strip or on the card are visible at the sight opening and whereby other indicia on the strip or on the card, longitudinally alined with the first mentioned indicia and within the transverse range of operation of the marking means, but spaced longitudinally therefrom, may indicate where the marking means is to operate at various locations transversely spaced from the indicia visible through said sight opening.

3. A recording device as set forth in claim 1, in which the marking means is located near one end of the casing, and including a transparent cover for the strip and card between said marking means and the other end of the casing.

4. A recording device as set forth in claim 1, in which the marking means is located near one end of the casing, and including a transparent cover hinged to the opposite end part of the casing to close over the strip and card, or to be opened for access to the strip for writing thereon when the card is not in place over the strip.

5. A recording device including a punch head and a series of punches therein, in which the punches are alined across the direction of movement of the record element, and including means covering the element and having a sight opening in crosswise alinement with the punches for viewing an area of the record element in crosswise alinement with which an aperture is to be formed by any one of the punches in the record element.

6. A recording device comprising a casing with side and end walls, a hinged top and a hinged bottom, the top terminating short of one end of the casing, a support in said casing, spaced down from the hinged top and terminating short of both ends of the casing, means in the casing operative to move a flexible record strip up around either end of the support and therealong and down over the other end thereof, by movement of the strip in one direction or the other, said means having an extension exteriorly of one side Wall of the casing for manipulating said means to move the strip as aforesaid, and said casing having at one end an opening to admit a record element under the hinged top and over the strip portion on the support, and marking means on top of the casing at the space left where the hinged top terminates short of one end of the casing, operative to make duplicate markings on the admitted record element and the record strip.

'7. A recording device comprising a casing, means to movably support a record element in the upper part of the casing, the lower portion of the interior of the casing being adapted to receive unsupported parts of the element, manipulating means exteriorly of one side of the casing, operatively extended inside the casing to engage the record element for moving it, means exteriorly of the opposite side of the casing adapted for mounting the device on the person of the user near the waistline, and marking means on top of the casing near its end that is disposed rearwardly when the device is mounted on the person, said casing being constructed to expose the supported record element between the marking means and the other end of the casing, whereby the user may write thereon with the hand supported on the marking means, and said casing having, at its rear end, an opening for inserting a second record element under the marking means and over the supported record element, for duplicate marking of the record elements by the marking means.

8. A recording device as set forth in claim '7,

in which the marking means includes a series of punches arranged transversely of the device to penetrate the record elements and die means to coact with the punches respectively adjacent sides of the elements opposite from the sides thereof at which the punches are located, said series of punches terminating short of one side of the device, and means covering the record elements at said side where the series of punches terminates, having a sight opening for view of an area of one of the record elements transversely alined with areas of the element to be penetrated by the punches, said side where the sight opening is located being the side outward from the person when the device is mounted as aforesaid.

9. In a recording device, the combination of a strip bearing a plurality of record forms in succession longitudinally thereof, each form comprising longitudinally succeeding transverse rows of indicia, means for supporting said strip for longitudinal travel, a record card bearing a form with indicia arranged to register with the indicia of a form of the strip, means for supporting the card across the strip if and when a card has been inserted with indicia in registry With the indicia verse row at which the marking means operates being selected by adjusting the strip and the card longitudinally in the device.

11. A recording device as set forth in claim 9, in which, in each record form on the strip and on the card, the indicia of each transverse row signifies various days of a month difi'erent from the month of which the indicia of each other transverse row indicates various days, and in which the marking means is adapted to selectively operate at any one of said longitudinal rows, the transverse row at which the marking means operates being selected by adjusting the strip and the card longitudinally in the device, each form bearing month indicia at one side at the ends of the respective transverse rows, said device also including means in a definite relation to the marking means determined by the spacing of the transverse rows, to gauge the registry of transverse rows with the marking means upon adjustment of the strip and the card longitudinally of the device.

12. In a recording device comprising a casing containing reels upon which a record strip is mounted, guiding means in said casing extending above said strip whereby a card may be inserted and guided on said guiding means for manual adjustment longitudinally of the strip, and marking means on said casing near one end thereof and above said guiding means, operative to mark both the card and the strip, said casing being provided with a transparent cover for the strip and card between said marking means and the other end of the casing.

13. In a recording device comprising a casing containing reels upon which a record strip is mounted, guiding means in said casing extending above said strip whereby a card may be manually inserted and guided on said guiding means for adjustment longitudinally of the strip, and marking means on said casing near one end thereof and above said guiding means, operative to mark both the card and the strip, said casing being provided with a transparent cover hinged to the opposite end part of the casing to close over the strip and card, or to be opened for access to the strip for writing thereon when the card is not in place over the strip.

14. In a recording device comprising a casing containing reels upon which a record strip is mounted, means to locate said strip for a recording operation, guide means above and parallel to said strip adapted to receive and support a record card inserted there by hand, visible and manual means to locate said record card in a proper position relative to said strip, and marking means operative for simultaneously marking said card and said strip.

RUPERT D. SPARKS. 

